Onboard shops without any shopping bags

[Thairific]

Princess Cruises and most other cruise lines encourage cruisers to shop onboard yet, we have not been able to find a single Princess ship to have any shopping bags for their passengers to carry their purchased merchandise with! I can’t even imagine anyone shopping at Macy’s, Nordstrom for example, having to lug all their purchases home without anything to carry them in! While other cruise lines have their shopping bags adorned with company logo on it Princess seems to want us to inconveniently haul all that stuff back to our cabin before continuing on with our activities ☹️

[wineforhealth]

14 minutes ago, Thairific said:

Princess Cruises and most other cruise lines encourage cruisers to shop onboard yet, we have not been able to find a single Princess ship to have any shopping bags for their passengers to carry their purchased merchandise with! I can’t even imagine anyone shopping at Macy’s, Nordstrom for example, having to lug all their purchases home without anything to carry them in! While other cruise lines have their shopping bags adorned with company logo on it Princess seems to want us to inconveniently haul all that stuff back to our cabin before continuing on with our activities ☹️

Welcome to cruise critic

[jwattle]

25 minutes ago, Thairific said:

Princess Cruises and most other cruise lines encourage cruisers to shop onboard yet, we have not been able to find a single Princess ship to have any shopping bags for their passengers to carry their purchased merchandise with! I can’t even imagine anyone shopping at Macy’s, Nordstrom for example, having to lug all their purchases home without anything to carry them in! While other cruise lines have their shopping bags adorned with company logo on it Princess seems to want us to inconveniently haul all that stuff back to our cabin before continuing on with our activities ☹️

When you shop at Nordstroms and Macys you have a great distance to  "haul" your stuff. On a cruise ship, it's a "de minimus" distance, and I believe that they figure the bag would just clutter your luggage. 🥂 They're really helping, when you think about it.

[Thairific]

When those bags are properly used they help a great deal in neatly stacked your suitcase 

[david63]

Had bags for purchases on Sky earlier this year

[kywildcatfanone]

I've never been on a ship that didn't have bags to put merchandise in to carry back to my stateroom.  You are saying that none of the shops onboard the ship had bags to put purchased items in?  

[skynight]

No bags at all?  the purchase can just be carried back to the cabin. It's all goes into luggage anyway. I wouldn't consider walking around the ship with purchases. 

[CruisinCouple2010]

We have made purchases on several Princess ships and yes the stores do run out of bags! 

[JimmyVWine]

10 hours ago, Thairific said:

I can’t even imagine anyone shopping at Macy’s, Nordstrom for example, having to lug all their purchases home without anything to carry them in!

This is not a binary choice.  It is not:

• Macy's provides me with a bag, or
• I lug all my purchases home without anything to carry them in.

The simple third option is that you bring your own bags with you to the store.  Been doing this for years.  And yes, we bring bags with us on cruises.  Mostly to accommodate us in port stops when we do purchasing there.  But they also come in handy when we shop on board.  A couple of light, mesh bags and one larger, but still easily packed canvas bag is all that is required for 90% of our purchases.  

[Potstech]

I wonder how many people purchase enough items in the ships store to require a large bag?

[HotRoot]

Try Seabourn.  You make your purchase and they deliver it to your stateroom.  Regent also.

[Rick&Jeannie]

Well.....I hate to even verbalize this; Is this the latest cost-cutting scheme?

[9tee2Sea]

have you tried asking for a bag when purchase is complete?  If they told me we don't have any bags, I would politely tell them to return my purchase.  I bet a bag will magically appear.

[david63]

3 minutes ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

Well.....I hate to even verbalize this; Is this the latest cost-cutting scheme?

On the basis that the shops are concessions then it would not affect the cruise line. Having said that the products that they sell at some of the silly prices I often wonder how they survive

[mtnesterz]

"Oh, you don't have a bag? Send it to my cabin. Thank you!" Walk away.

Enough of that from passengers and bags will appear.

Edited October 31, 2023 by mtnesterz

[doghog]

36 minutes ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

Well.....I hate to even verbalize this; Is this the latest cost-cutting scheme?

Can't blame tis one on Princess. All the onboard shops are managed and staffed by a contractor. 

[Pickels]

17 minutes ago, mtnesterz said:

"Oh, you don't have a bag? Send it to my cabin. Thank you!" Walk away.

Enough of that from passengers and bags will appear.

Great idea but!  You already made the purchase; unless you asked before you made the purchase.  People usually ask for a bag after the purchase; if they don't have a bag, and you ask them to send it to your cabin; and if they don't make an effort to send it to your cabin, wouldn't you be out a purchase?

[deja moo]

Try getting a bag at Costco or Sam's club. Good luck!

[mtnesterz]

2 minutes ago, Pickels said:

Great idea but!  You already made the purchase; unless you asked before you made the purchase.  People usually ask for a bag after the purchase; if they don't have a bag, and you ask them to send it to your cabin; and if they don't make an effort to send it to your cabin, wouldn't you be out a purchase?

I have the receipt, the ship's transaction record, and ship's counter video to prove the product was not received at purchase time. I can remove a charge if not delivered.

1 minute ago, deja moo said:

Try getting a bag at Costco or Sam's club. Good luck!

But as a vacation destination, they leave me wanting more.

[Lady Arwen]

None of our local stores have bags.  You either bring your own, purchase one of their very inexpensive cloth bags for 35 cents or carry it out of the store without a bag.  We’ve learned to keep a bunch of bags in the car.  Onboard I always carry my own tote bag when I’m shopping even if they offer me a bag.  Just one more thing to dispose of in the cabin.

[memoak]

Every store I go to charges for bags how much more do you want to pay ?  

[Kmkub]

1 hour ago, david63 said:

On the basis that the shops are concessions then it would not affect the cruise line. Having said that the products that they sell at some of the silly prices I often wonder how they survive

The prices aren’t silly for everything. In several cases, it’s cheaper, because you are buying duty free. Alcohol and perfume come to mind. I think cigarettes, too, but I quit so long ago, I wouldn’t know.

 

I’ve found a couple of very nice shirts and sweaters for around Ross/TJ Max prices. It’s knowing how to shop for bargains. 

 

Also note; many people, (NOT all,) can afford $90 tank tops, and will buy them. These types of stores exist all over the world and make plenty of money.

[Lady Arwen]

1 hour ago, david63 said:

On the basis that the shops are concessions then it would not affect the cruise line. Having said that the products that they sell at some of the silly prices I often wonder how they survive

Not Princess, but two years ago on a Celebrity ship the boutique store had a last day sale and Kate Spade handbags were on sale half price.  I know the price of handbags and I bought four.   So, you can get deals if you know what you’re looking for.

[Mangrove Snapper]

We were either given, or offered, bags every time in the shops on the Emerald during our 10/7 - 10/14 cruise this year. 

[cruisequeen4ever]

We have always been given a bag on Princess when we purchase merchandise, and my experience is as most recent as July of this year.